The invention relates to apparatus and means to modulate the resonance of an acoustic musical string instrument such as, for example, one from the violin family including instruments commonly called a violin, viola, cello or bass.
Stringed acoustic musical instruments, of which violins, violas, cellos and basses are examples, have a tone that is uniquely characteristic to the instrument. Instrument tone is a function of the construction, design, and materials used in the production of the instrument. As a result each instrument has a unique tone. Disadvantageously, an instrument may inherently produce a wolf note or tone that is not entirely satisfactory to the player.
There are many devices and procedures available to vary the tone of the instrument. Weight or mass devices are available for attachment to the instrument in areas such as string after-length, the bridge, or tailpiece. The efficacy of these devices is affected by the limited areas available on the instrument for their attachment thus limiting the adjustability available.
In some cases permanent weight/mass attachments may be fastened to the inside of the instrument. In other cases, material may be permanently removed from the inside of the instrument, from the bridge, tailpiece, or fingerboard. In cases of permanent alterations, the effect of the change is not known until after the changes are made which is a hit and miss proposition. If the resulting tone is not as anticipated or desired, then the change cannot be easily undone and requires restoration.
In all cases of material attachment or removal, the changes may negatively affect the overall tone of the instrument even though the specific tone deficiency may be successfully brought under control. As well, different varieties of strings may also be used to achieve different tone. However, strings tend to be costly and testing many different strings can be detrimental to the instrument as well as time consuming and costly.
There is therefore a need for a simple device that can be removably and be widely adjustably attached to the instrument, in order to effectively modulate the resonance characteristic of an instrument to suit the pleasure of different players or different music scores, such that it does not damage or alter the material or finish of the instrument.